133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
3 June 2022
Philip Shaw
By email: [FYI request #17767 email]
Ref:
H202116873/ 574313
Cc:
[email address]
Tēnā koe Philip
Reconsideration and clarification of your request for official information
I refer to your request under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act) on 10 March 2022 for:
“If I could please reduce this scope to the earliest ten emails with MATTR in regards to the
My Vaccine Pass application,”
On 15 March 2022, the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) communicated a decision on your
request. The Ministry interpreted your request to refer to engagements specifically with MATTR
in connection with the development of the My Vaccine Pass.
Following your complaint to the Ombudsman, the Ministry is able to make a new decision on
your request. The Ministry conducted a search of its records and identified the 10 earliest emails
the Ministry had with MATTR, regardless of subject matter. These are administrative in nature
and do not provide any information regarding the “My Vaccine Pass”.
The Ministry considers the term “My Vaccine Pass” to relate to a digital credential issued for the
purpose of proving vaccination status for COVID-19 in a domestic setting. Therefore, in your
original response the Ministry excluded work on the international certificates, work on the
underlying platform that was already in progress, and any of the proof of concept or initial
discussions held prior to September.
It may be helpful if I explain that the Ministry had already engaged with MATTR regarding
international certificates prior to the decision by Ministers on 17 September 2021 to direct the
consideration of a domestic implementation of a proof of vaccination.
The following summarises those engagements:
February 2021:
The Ministry began work to understand the landscape and an approach to digital health
credentials, including how those credentials might be used to prove COVID-19 vaccination and
test status, on the assumption that New Zealanders would require these to undertake
international travel. This work was hypothetical and was designed to help the Ministry
understand the technology to ensure re-usability and good value for money in line with its
investment approach.
April – May 2021:
The Ministry of Transport began working on “travel health passes” around this time. The
Ministryof Health decided to run a proof of concept with MATTR to gather detailed requirements
for an international vaccination certificate solution, covering off technical, user experience, and
trust framework aspects. The Ministry of Health met MATTR again to discuss the scope for the
international vaccination certificate proof of concept.
June – August 2021:
The Ministry continued to work with MATTR to complete analysis of the international vaccination
certificate proof of concept. The Ministry issued a closed request for proposal (RFP) in mid-July
to vendors identified by the Department of Internal Affairs. MATTR was selected as the
preferred supplier, supported by Cogito for aspects related to document signing. By August, the
Ministry started working on the implementation of a solution for the creation of EU Digital
COVID-19 certificates for international use. This approach was driven by the Ministry’s growing
understanding that New Zealanders travelling overseas would require a form of COVID-19
vaccination evidence on entry to a foreign jurisdiction. It should be further noted that the budget
identified for this work only included certificate volumes and costs associated international
certificates.
I hope this assists with your complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Nāku noa, nā
Gaynor Bradfield
Manager, Office of the Deputy Director-General
Data and Digital
Page 2 of 2
